Reversing the decision of the previous Congress-led Bhupinder Singh Hooda government, the Haryana government Tuesday said that retirement age would be reduced from 60 to 58 years.Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar told media that the decision to reduce the retirement age was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet here Tuesday.The Hooda government, just before the Oct 15 assembly election in the state, had announced a populist decision to increase retirement age for government staff from 58 to 60 years. The cabinet also decided to increase value added tax (VAT) on diesel by nearly three percent.Khattar said that the reports on the land deals of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, sought from district authorities in the national capital region (NCR) are awaited.
"A decision on this will be taken after the reports are received," he said.The cabinet also decided to remove the chairman and members of the Haryana Staff Service Selection Commission.Khattar said that 906 people have been arrested in the case related to controversial sect leader Rampal."Rampal has been arrested in this case. His key aides have also been arrested. A number of weapons have been recovered from his premises. There will be no place for unlawful activities in Haryana," he said.